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Robots with humanoid designs are expected to significantly boost their running speeds next year, possibly even outpacing the 100-meter dash times of Jamaica’s sprint superstar and world record holder Usain Bolt. An industry expert recently shared that with targeted optimizations for specific functions like running, these robots could see rapid performance improvements. He predicted, “At next year’s World Humanoid Robot Competition, we’ll witness robots run faster than Bolt.”
Usain Bolt, a legend in athletics with eight Olympic gold medals, set the world record for the 100-meter dash at 9.58 seconds during the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. In comparison, robots at the Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center’s Tiangong Ultra recently completed the same distance in 21.50 seconds during a competition this August.
The fascination with humanoid robot races stems from their ability to serve as comprehensive performance tests, evaluating both hardware durability and software control. Experts note that from a hardware perspective, sprinting stresses a robot’s motors and joints to assess their power, endurance, and heat dissipation capabilities under high load. On the software side, these robots challenge their real-time environment perception and dynamic balancing skills while moving at high speeds.
Participating robots in the latest competition relied on remote controllers to issue commands such as move forward, backward, and turn, guiding them through obstacles and helping them complete the 100-meter race. Meanwhile, complex algorithms managed the robots’ entire body movements.
While initial research into robotics often concentrated on dexterous hands and large-scale models, attention is increasingly turning to leg control. Running and walking form the foundation for robots to be practically useful in everyday life. Experts emphasize that stable movement is crucial for enabling autonomous behavior and task performance.
To stay balanced during fast movement, control systems must constantly adjust the force exerted by each joint. Multiple leg joints require continuous power to generate torque that counteracts gravity, keeping the robot upright and preventing falls.
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